Circuit arrangements of this type are known for example from asymmetrical half-bridge circuits, in which the energy present at the time of the blocking phase of the semiconductor switch in parasitic inductances such as line inductances or stray inductances is fed back via diodes into the corresponding intermediate power circuit. In such cases however the permissible dielectric strength of the semiconductor switch must be greater in each case than the level of the intermediate circuit voltage.
This problem is resolved in the conventional manner by using semiconductor switches with correspondingly high, permissible blocking voltages. However this gives rise to correspondingly higher costs. On the other hand semiconductor switches with correspondingly high blocking voltages are often not available at all or exhibit other disadvantages such as bad gating properties or large component sizes. Thus, in accordance with the prior art a number of switches with high permissible blocking voltages have to be connected in parallel in order to obtain the necessary conductivity properties.